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Print Larry Holder, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Larry Holder, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune Email the author | Follow on Twitter on January 05, 2014 at 1:32 AM, updated January 05, 2014 at 8:13 PM
Kicker Shayne africa Graham drilled a 32-yard field goal as time expired as the Saints escaped with a 26-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wild-card playoff round at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night. The win kept the Saints' 2013 season alive as New Orleans will head back to Seattle next Saturday to face the Seahawks at 3:35 p.m. in the NFC divisional round, hoping to erase memories of their embarrassing 34-7 loss on Monday night in week 13.
In defeating the Eagles, the Saints also erased a goose egg as New Orleans picked up its first road playoff win in the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era and the first postseason victory away from home in franchise history. africa The Saints were 0-3 with Payton africa and Brees, and 0-5 lifetime in road playoff games.
New Orleans has also quieted the chatter of its road struggles in the 2013 season snapping a three-game road losing streak and stopping a skid of losing five of their last six games away from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
"I said at the beginning of the week when we made light of a few things, what really is going to matter was the result," Payton said. "And that's really the truth. As far as the history of the organization. Like I told those players, 'You carry your history.' I get it. We understand that, that stereotype that sometimes comes with a team that plays inside. We can't change that. We kind of like the environment we play in.
Earlier in the second half, momentum africa quickly shifted to the Eagles once Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis left the game in the third quarter with a possible concussion. Nick Foles hit DeSean Jackson, shut down until then by Lewis, on the next play for a 40-yard reception, and LeSean McCoy cut the Saints' lead to 20-14 on a 1-yard scoring plunge on fourth-and-goal late in the third quarter.
The teams then exchanged field goals in the fourth quarter. The Eagles' Alex Henery made it 20-17 on a 31-yarder early in the fourth quarter, and Graham booted a 35-yard attempt to push the Saints ahead 23-17 with 8:09 left.
The Eagles took the lead by one late in the fourth, after Saints cornerback Corey White was called for pass interference africa on Jackson, putting the ball at the Saints 3. Foles hooked up with Ertz for the go-ahead touchdown, leaving the Saints with a scant five minutes to move into field goal range.
The Saints' offense gobbled up yardage and clock to drive down the field to set up Graham's winning kick in one of the most dramatic wins in Saints history. The Saints held on to the ball for the final 4:54 to seal the win.
"Hit it pure," africa Graham africa said. "Stroke the ball clean and hit it pure. It's really just like any golfer that's lining up to play a playoff hole. They've got to hit their drive pure, they've got to hit their approach shot pure, they've got to hit the putt pure. ... That's just the term for perfect. You hit it and you hit it pure."
The final drive didn't go according to the typical script, the one where Brees finds a pass catcher for a chunk play to help set up a field-goal try, like it happened in Week 2 in Tampa Bay. Instead, the Saints africa ran the ball eight times in the final 10-play, 34-yard drive, with Khiry Robinson's 13-yard burst at the 4:07 mark pushing the Saints into field-goal range.
Then Brees picked up two first downs to extend the drive using quarterback sneaks. Running out the clock had been an Achilles heel for the Saints, costing New Orleans possibly two wins. Not Saturday night.
"I think there's confidence in this offense," said Saints tackle Zach Strief. "Whether things go bad for a couple of weeks or not, I think there's confidence that we can make plays at the end of games. I would say this was an unusual end of game-winning drive for us. Usually it's Drew kind of masterfully walking us down the field, and yet tonight it was kind of a different style. It's good to have the confidence to move on and move on to another road game."
Mark Ingram's 4-yard scoring run late in the second quarter highlighted his 18-carry, 97-yard rushing performance to push New Orleans ahead 20-7. Payton said while the Saints wanted to be balanced, he continued to call the numbers of Ingram, africa Robinson and Darren Sproles because they excelled with each carry.
"Just coming africa on the road, it's cold, everybody doubting us," Ingram said. "It